ASSESSMENT OF PREVALENCE OF TOOTH LOSS AMONG PROSTHETICALLY TREATED PATIENTS IN THREE HEALTH CENTERS OF SOUTHERN SERBIA IN THE PERIOD 2002–2011

Tooth loss leads to a variety of disorders of the orofacial system function, it changes the appearance of the patient and also disrupts patient’s social life. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of partial and complete tooth loss among prosthetically managed patients in the reference institutions in the three towns of southern Serbia, during the period from 2002 to 2011. According to medical records, statistical analysis of the prevalence of both complete and partial edentulism was done based on mobile and fixed prosthetic dentures made in three different dental institutions approved by the Ministry of Health of Serbia (Niš, Vranje, Leskovac). The study sample consisted of patients’ dental records. Taking into account the limitations of this study, a decrease in loss of teeth in the age structure of 20 to 40 years among prosthetically managed patients could be observed. Edentulism was significantly higher in patients over the age of 60 years and more prevalent in female patients. In the Healthcare Center Vranje, there was a significant increase in teeth loss among prosthetically managed patients, with a rate of 2.4% per year. The number of edentulous patients older than 60 years of age is not in keeping with the trend in Europe, and can be explained by low economic standard, wars waged in the Balkans in the 90’s in the past century, migration from rural to urban areas and the newly introduced legal provisions